


To The Victor Go The Spoils

by badluckvixen13 (alteringviews)



Series: 1 Million for Black Hermione [19]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: BAMF Hermione Granger, Black Hermione Granger, F/M, businessman Viktor Krum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-03 00:52:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10231859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alteringviews/pseuds/badluckvixen13
Summary: Viktor is the best at what he does. Firebolt, Inc. should have been an easy job, was going to be an easy job. it was obvious that the current heir had little to no business acumen and needed an out. The Malfoys had nothing on his proposal...Then, she showed up...Fuck, he had it bad.





	1. Chapter 1

 

He had it bad.

Not like doing a dance because the bathroom was across the building and the elevator was really slow _bad,_ but bad that watching her walk into his office all fire, curly hair and attitude was enough to make his heart rate go up and his pants to grow inexplicably tight.

He’d tried to deny it, really he had but she was just so…

 _Delicious,_ is the word his mind supplied.

Sexy, seductive without meaning to be, honest, open, passionate--

_Brilliant._

There was nothing sexier than someone who could speak circles around him and hold her own in a meeting room.

Sweet gods, he was going to hell and it would be okay… so long as he got to have her just once to get rid of this itch beneath his skin.

He hoped she’d say yes.

You see, it started off rather simply. His job was to take over companies. His employer was incredibly good at looking at the market and finding out which companies would be ludicrously profitable, but were currently tanking. His job was to slide in and finesse his way to getting people to sign over their companies for a negotiated fee. Durmstrang, Inc. had earned its name as a shark for a damn reason, going toe to toe with Malfoy Enterprises quite often and usually snatching the deal right from under the noses of the snakes. A great deal of those deals had been secured shortly after Viktor came onboard. It was said that he had an air about him that made people trust him. He thought it was his smile.

The day had been simple. The company on his docket was Firebolt, Inc.. It had been started some time ago, left near bankrupt after the previous owner, the current owner’s father he thought, had gambled and embezzled the company down to little pieces and was currently creeping along.

They had patents worth millions, potentially billions, and an R&D team that surpassed most, if not all, in the medical field. They had a good presentation in the eyes of the public, a great legal and FDA approval track record for their products and the added benefit of the Underdog story.  He knew Malfoy Enterprises had already attempted to take them over, but Firebolt had slipped out of their grasps, slipped out of bankruptcy and were back in a position to negotiate.  Malgoy had engaged about a month prior while Viktor was working on another case. The person they sent to handle it had been snuffed out easily, leaving Malfoy as the only company in the running. As soon as Viktor had sealed the deal, Karkaroff had dropped the files on his desk and told him to be ready in the morning to attend this meeting and put forth Durmstrang’s proposal.

Viktor had slaved all night reading the paperwork, drank a large cup of coffee with three shots of espresso, showered, and headed to Firebolt.

He’d walked in, smiled pleasantly across the room to all in attendance. Harry Potter, the owner of Firebolt, looked like the kind of man who knew he was at his wits end. His CFO looked shady at the least, as did his COO. Harry Potter clearly needed a way out and a way out quickly. The rest of the room seemed to be filled with accounting, legal, the board of directors, as well as representatives of Malfoy’s company.

She was the last person to arrive.

 _Holy Hera,_ he thought seeing her, tossing a collection of curls over her shoulder, her glasses perched on her cute nose above hot pink lips and brown skin. Her dress wasn’t inappropriate by any means, but she was clearly the most colorful constituent of the assembly. Conservatively cut to the knees, deep blue, body contouring-- power dress if he’d ever seen one and hot pink peep toe shoes cover brown toes that were painted a vibrant red. She walked in with her folder as if she owned the world and Harry Potter, smiled getting up to shake her hand and thank her for coming.

Draco Malfoy stood with all the sleaze he’d inherited from Lucius to give his presentation. He watched keenly, listening for the holes in his presentation, data that wasn’t accurate and the like as the woman in blue and hot pink took notes. He watched as the members of Firebolt seemed to nod along and Viktor held his piece.

“Any questions?” he asked the room with a slick smile.

Viktor had never liked Draco, nor his father.

She raised one hot pink tipped brown hand and waited to be acknowledged before letting loose a bandolier of questions in hot succession that had Draco fumbling to answer. It seemed that her notes were as detailed as his own, if not more so and he wondered who the hell she was.

When it was his own turn, he was a tad nervous. She’d all but ripped Malfoy’s proposal apart and though Viktor was far more prepared, when she was done with her questions, it seemed that he only barely survived with his skin intact. When the meeting was over, the board members glared at her fiercely even as she finished up her notes and handed them off to Harry who smiled gratefully at her.

“Who is she?” Viktor asked his assistant as they walked out, passing the woman and Harry speaking to one another. She was far shorter than he thought and far more shapely.

“I don’t know,” he said flipping through his files. “I’ve never seen her. She could work for a consulting firm…. Whoever the hell she is, she does her damn homework well.”

“Apparently, better than we do…”Viktor said with a smirk. “She’s… going to be fun.”

At the next meeting, he was prepared for her. At least, he thought he was. She fucking outflanked him intellectually with that cool intellect and went toe to toe with her on her figures and calculations which she’d seemingly pulled out of thin air… only to find out that she’d done a full work up on Durmstrang’s tactics and companies.

His assistant gawked at him across the room, manning the podium. While this was all information that was public knowledge and things that he did know, he didn’t have a defense for the insights that she laid on the table making the entire room look incredibly uncomfortable save Harry who looked relieved beyond measure.

He left the second meeting feeling like she’d chopped his balls off, minced them in a blender and served them to him in a creamy pate on the thinnest and best of crackers.

He wanted to drag her out of the board room and pin her up against a wall--kiss the fire pop-colored lipstick off her lips and get his hands in that widely distracting mane of curls, her legs around his waist and out of those damnable heels.

“We need to figure out who the hell she is,” his assistant said. “I don’t think I can take you getting skewered again.”

Viktor leaned back in his office chair only barely looking up as Igor came in.

“Well, tell me how it went?” He asked. “You crushed Malfoy, didn’t you?”

Viktor snorted, “More like we both got crushed, bent over a barrel and whipped until we screamed _Daddy_.”

Igor’s eyebrows narrowed as Vlad snorted with laughter.

Igor took a seat, “What happened?”

“Potter had… some sort of consultant there. She was there at the first meeting as well, but it seems that she does her damn research on the field better than we do...Vlad’s been trying to find her, but no luck. She never even introduced herself.”

Igor hummed.

The woman sounded like trouble.

After a few months of getting beat around in the boardroom, the board decided to let Malfoy Enterprises and Durmstrang, Inc. in a little deeper to flesh out some of their reports and analysis. They were supposed to interface with three people: the CFO, the head of Accounting and their “Consultant”.

“Is that what they’re calling her?”Vlad asked. “Consultant.”

Viktor paced looking at his board, “There’s got to be something. We at least have a chance to know her name and I’m sure Igor will take it and find something to blackmail her with if things don’t go well.”

Vlad nodded, that was Igor’s way. It wasn’t illegal, he didn’t do it outright, but it was just enough to make people bend. Viktor hated it, firm that if he presented the best that should be enough. It was the main reason he was the best. He'd never failed a takeover and he'd never resorted to underhanded tactics.

The first meeting would be at their offices. Viktor would be alone in a boardroom with her to talk data analysis and the like.

He saw her walking towards the building. Her hair caught in the wind, whipping around her as she stepped out of a car on the street. She was wearing black today, he wondered what color her lips were. They were surprisingly neutral with just enough shimmer to be slightly distracting.

He had Vlad set her up in the conference room with drink and food if she wanted it before coming to greet her. She didn’t seem phased in the least at Igor’s power play to not shake her hand. She only countered with opening the door for him and a wicked smile.

Viktor could only groan softly and try not to swoon as blood rushed south at the way Igor grunted and walked away, not so cool. She played for keeps and for the sake of the gods, it was enough to make him almost come in his trousers.

Yes, he had it bad.

“You are quite the enigma, Ms….”

“Granger,” she said holding out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to actually meet you, Mr. Krum.”

He shook her hand firmly and held the door open for her to walk in, allowing her to choose the seat. He expected her to take either head, but she chose a seat in the middle setting her briefcase down and regarding him across the table.

“Well, after tearing me apart for last few months, it is quite the pleasure.”

She didn’t even smile, fidget or do anything besides open her notebook.

“So, what have you found?”

He slid his revised proposal over and began to talk her through it. While he was convinced that she was merely glancing over the pages from the speed at which she turned them, he was shocked when she pulled out her pen on the first page and began marking all over it. He kept talking through the report and before he was finished, she’d marked through all the pages and traded a clean copy with him.

“Well, Mr. Krum, it’s been a pleasure. Please let Firebolt know if you have any questions about my comments, they’ll direct them to me.”

Viktor blinked looked down at the pages, but stood and ushered her out feeling that he’d missed something entirely.

The pages were so neatly marked that it was impossible not to groan. Every wording issue, every cent off, every detail from the smallest to the largest were covered and dissected.

“For fucks sake, who is she?”

“You got a name from her didn’t you?”

“Ms. Granger,” Viktor said. “That’s all.”

“Right… well it’s something.”


	2. Chapter 2

“You’re bloody scary sometimes, ‘Mione,” Harry said sitting in a lab chair and watching her work. “I’m glad I don’t have to go against you.”

“As you should be,” Hermione quipped. “I’d slice you to pieces.”

Harry paled and she laughed as she tied her hair back into a bushy ponytail and leaned towards the microscope. She turned Harry out as he looked over the proposal from Malfoy she brought back. 

Harry understood enough of it all to know that neither Durmstrang or Malfoy meant Firebolt the best. They were after the patents the company held and its stronghold in the medical field, nothing more.

Igor and Lucius had descended on the board and while Harry could hold the board at bay with his majority ownership, he couldn't keep the vultures away… 

He'd gone straight to Hermione, dragged her into his office and begged her to take a look. He'd turned over all of his log ins and let her run wild before the meeting. She was head of R&D but there wasn't much that Hermione hadn't dabbled in, business included.

She'd been brilliant at the meeting and he'd been so relieved. Gods, he'd been afraid that she'd come in her lab coat and be completely disregarded--she'd looked like a consultant from the moment she stepped in…

It was insane, completely insane, to see her like this in her sweatpants, sweatshirt, lab coat, and messy ponytail. Her glasses perched on her nose and the look of concentration on her face as she scribbled her notes.

He waits for her to be done before they headed back to their shared condo. Harry made dinner, they watched a movie, and fell asleep with Crookshanks warming Hermione’s lap.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He couldn't fucking live like this.

Viktor leaned back in his chair, gripping the arms of his chair and tried to focus on anything that wasn't his incredibly painful erection. One would think at his age that he’d mastered the art of ignoring his annoyingly reactive libido, but they didn’t know him well to think that. His libido was a pain in the ass to deal with when it decided to rear its head. He’d thought for a long time that he just didn’t have a sex drive since his last trainwreck relationship. 

Gods, how he’d been so painfully wrong after watching a woman who looked as dangerous as Aphrodite walk by him, all curve, leg, and a pretty smile. 

_ Fuck,  _  he thought.  _ Not helping. _

They'd gone into the second phase of consulting begrudgingly, almost half of a year into negotiations. The fact that they seemed a little closer to having a deal made Igor happy, but if he had to sit in his office with just the faintest whisper of her perfume, shea butter, and her natural scent in his nose while they talked business and she practically beat him over the head with the gaping holes in his proposal, he'd lose it. It had only been the second meeting and he was already on the edge of embarrassing himself.

“Your balls still intact?” Vlad asked.

Viktor huffed, “If they aren't going to explode…”

“That's your type?”

“What can I say? I love a woman who can kick my ass mentally.”

Vlad shook his head, “Doesn't help that she has all of that...hip.”

Viktor’s lips quirked. Yeah, hip. Hip was a safe word as Viktor tried to mentally talk down his erection.

“Viktor!” Igor thundered coming down the hall, fuming.

“Da?” Viktor groaned, his proposal marked up to pieces on his desk. She'd used a purple pen, the same shade as her lips, and damn had it been distracting.

“What is this?”

Viktor turned as the man took over his computer to pull up the press release of Firebolt’s revitalization with a recent discovery of a cancer treatment that didn't involve chemotherapy. With government contracts already in the works it seemed that Firebolt would be safe from outside interference.

“ _ Other sources say that Harry James Potter has released evidence to the police to posthumously clear his father's name and actually overturn the board completely making Firebolt a family run, private company once again… _ ”

Viktor hummed as Igor grit his teeth glaring at the screen.

“ _ It seems to be a great day for Firebolt which had recently been going through negotiations to sell the company to either Durmstrang or Malfoy Enterprises. It seems that Mr.Potter didn't like either of those options and made moves to ensure that the Potter family name and company was restored. _ ”

Harry appeared in the screen grinning into the screen, looking as relieved as anyone in that position could be, “ _ I really have to thank my best friend and Head of the R&D department for giving me a good kick in the rear about this. She told me...to fight for Firebolt with everything and has been there for every step. I really couldn't have done this without her and other who supported me and my fight to save Firebolt.” _

Viktor sat back as Igor glared at him.

“Why didn't we know about this?!”

Viktor hummed, “Because it wasn't in--”

“We have done it your way,” he said, apparently happy that  _ finally _ Viktor’s nobility had proven to be ineffective in getting him what he wanted. “No doubt Lucius will be going with his secondary plan we have to move now.”

He left and Viktor shook his head. Igor would be pissed off no matter what he did. He looked down at his lap with a grimace and leaned back. 

_ And she was cool… _ he thought with a groan. She’d beat him over the head with that bright green dress that matched her dress and those glossy lips as if it really mattered that Viktor got it right and hadn’t let it slipped , not once, that she wouldn’t be back though he  _ knew _ she had to have known what was going on at the company. 

She had to have and the fact that she hadn’t let a thing slip made it even harder to concentrate. 

For the first time since his last relationship, a cold shower didn’t help, working out made it worse and he just succumbed to the fact that while he was a man in control of himself most days, he was still just a man. 

The scent of her shea butter and seductive perfume was the only thing he could smell as he stroked himself, crashing over the edge like the virgin he hadn’t been in  _ years _ . He lay on the floor of his condo, staring up at the ceiling, panting, and praying that he could keep it together or would never see her again.

He couldn’t fucking live like this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This Granger woman?" Igor growled. "Who is she?"

“No one is unfindable!” Igor growled. “Who the hell is this best friend of his?”

“We only have records of a Ronald Billius Weasley who works for the Ministry, he was on the Quidditch team with him…”

“What of the Head and R&D?” Igor hissed

“She isn't listed publically, we've tried to hack the system but it looks like they've installed a new firewall.”

“This Granger woman?” Igor growled. “Who is she?”

Vlad threw up his hands, “There were fifteen females with the last name Granger who went to the same University as Potter. None of them seem to be the type to be close, but there are three that currently work for Firebolt according to what we've been able to find.”

“I want dirt on all of them, Dolohov. Do not fail me.”

He nodded and went off to do whatever it was that he did. Viktor only shook his head and left the room. Igor had made up his mind about this...he was going to chase this until he couldn't any longer. Viktor took a glance at his proposal and moved to revise it per her notes. He shook his head and folded it together to be sent by courier, simply to be done and to give her a warning. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Handsome... yes, he was handsome and smart. 
> 
> Hermione was pretty sure the gods sent him specifically for Harry.

When she received the proposal, she couldn’t help but smile. Dealing with Draco had been easy. They made quite the show of it and laughed about it at Harry’s place later. Sure, he’d been a git in school, but they were both much older and as Harry’s best friend, Draco had learned to play nice. 

Hermione managed to ready it on the trolley ride home, his note at least telling her in no uncertain terms that Igor was flipping shit about being played that if there were any skeletons in her closet she should be prepared to confront them. 

She thought it odd that such a clearly noble, straight-laced man would be working for a sleaze ball like Karkaroff.  Then again, from the research that she’d done of Durmstrang, she knew that Viktor came from a family that was rather close to Karkaroff. He was from Bulgaria and went to school with Igor’s son and daughter for years. There was a personal connection with Karkaroff that would be uncomfortable to sever, but probably not hard.

No doubt Viktor had been gunning for advancement in the company that Igor had reserved for his less impressive son, grooming Viktor to stay forever, all the while pissing the very strong and… 

_ Handsome,  _  she granted and rolled her eyes sitting down in her lab chair to read the new proposal. 

Anyway, there was no doubt that Igor had been scratching at any fealty Viktor had built up for the man over the years far faster than the man realized. Her part to play in Viktor’s usually noble tactics failing this one time, probably not helping. 

She smiled and walked towards the elevator to get up to Harry’s office before Draco swung by for their usual lunchtime tryst. 

“‘Mione?” Harry asked as she came in. 

“Hello, Harry!” She said with a smile and held the proposal aloft. “Guess what I just received?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I ... hear Firebolt is hiring."

“Get out of my face, Viktor,” Igor growled. “Consider this a termination of your employment.”

Viktor’s eyebrows drifted up, interested in the least at this development, but he smiled and stood up. 

“Sure thing.”

He wasn’t sure if it was his casualness towards the entire thing, or the fact that Viktor straightened the piles of his research, wrote notes for his predecessors and packed up the rest of his things before the man had even left their section of the building. He set up an auto-reply stating that he had been asked to leave the company, shut down his computer for the last time and stepped out a free man. He wasn’t surprised to see Vlad there too. 

“Out of a job?”

Viktor nodded. 

“I… hear Firebolt is hiring.”

Viktor snorted and walked towards his car, sliding in and heading home. When he gets an email to his personal box from Harry Potter offering him a chance to come in and interview, Viktor wonders what on earth Vlad knew that he didn’t and how the news of his unemployment went around so quickly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ms. Granger recommended you,” he said and Viktor’s jaw dropped.

Harry smiled at him, shook his hand and thanked him for his part to play to ousting his former board of directors. 

“Ms. Granger recommended you,” he said and Viktor’s jaw dropped. 

_ Recommended? _ He thought. He was partially convinced that she thought he was a complete idiot.

Harry laughed, “I know… She’s tough, but she respects hard work. According to her, you had the best analytics and most of your assumptions were only off because you didn’t have the full picture.”

He blinked, she could have fooled him with the way she tore through his proposals with her vibrant pens… And those damned lips speaking so quickly to him that his head spun. She was the kind of woman that set the pace in business and gods had he been tripping all over himself to keep up, catch up, and make it look easy.

“That being said, I think you’ve figured out by now that I’m not exactly well versed in the running of a business… to be honest it was kind of thrown at me and if it wasn’t for her I’m pretty sure the board would have sold Firebolt off piece by piece ages ago.”

Viktor waited trying to figure out what the man was getting at. He had to admit that Harry Potter looked a lot better than he had the last time he’d seen the man in person. He assumed that was because there wasn’t the threat of his company circling the drain any more, but he seemed to have even more of a glow than he had on the news as well.

“I’m in need of a VP of Operations and Finance,” he said with a smile. “Someone who knows the ins and outs of business, how it works and how to fix it.”

Viktor’s jaw dropped, “What?”

“On recommendation from several people and Ms. Granger, I’d like to offer you the job.”

“What?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was pretty sure that no woman made him...as frisky as she had...
> 
> And he just learned her first name.
> 
> Gods help him.

“What?” Vlad asked looking at him. “Are you serious?”

“As a fucking heart attack,” he  said, staring at the contract on his table. 

“I mean… I put in my resume of course, but… Ms. Granger recommended you for VP of Operations?”

“Apparently…”

“Well hell…”

“Exactly.”

He knows that Igor never had any intention of promoting him to VP though Viktor was more than qualified for the job. He was saving that spot for his son and probably planning to make Viktor carry his son’s weight for as long as possible. Firing Viktor was a power play, one designed to try and break him knowing that while Viktor’s parents had been friends with Karkaroff since they were kids, they weren’t of the same social standing without Viktor’s place at Durmstrang. When his parents found out, they’d be calling him, begging him to go a crawl on his knees, to bend and obey-- to grovel-- for his job back. Viktor would rather be homeless on the street than ever to lick Igor’s boots after all the years of work he’d put in to make Durmstrang what it was. 

Karkaroff thought Viktor stayed because he needed the prestige, because of his parents--he’d been wrong. 

Viktor had ambition and hadn’t taken kindly the number of time Igor had passed him up for promotion. 

It would scorch his soul when he found out, but he had to figure out… 

_ Why? _

In the end, he can’t find a speck of reason in the employment contract or employee handbook that would be problematic. He’d screened it through several lawyers and they all said the same thing: it’s a good deal, honest… In the way that Firebolt was known to be and Durmstrang lacked entirely. He smirked wryly, remembering the way he fought against his employment contract from the very start and was now immensely glad to be free from it. When he showed up for orientation and a tour, he’s surprised to see Draco there, shaking hands with Harry. 

“That bloody Granger nearly gave me a heart attack!”

Harry laughed, “I’m sorry, Draco, but I asked her to be thorough.”

“Did she have to slice my balls open like that though? No wonder she’s still single.”

Harry snorted, “Don’t talk about her that way and I’d say after all these years, you deserved it.”

He snorted, “Touche, love.”

Viktor’s eyes widened watching the flush on Harry’s cheeks as he walked towards Harry’s office. Draco looked up with a smile. 

“Well Krum, welcome to Paradise. I heard tale that Karkaroff had let you go… Shame that little minx managed to snatch you up for Harry though.”

Draco stood, “If you ever get tired of this mop-head for a boss, give me a call. Malfoy Enterprises could use someone of your talents.”

Harry snorted, “You wouldn’t want to work for this statue. Trust me.”

Draco gave him a look that had Harry flushing and shuffling his papers before the blonde sauntered out and Harry moved to greet him. 

“You’ll meet the heads of each department and work out a schedule with them and of course my interim Chief of Operations…”

“Ms. Granger?” Viktor asked and Harry grinned in response. 

All in all, the heads of each department were an interesting collection of people. They all seemed to have their heads of straight and were happy to open up their books and things to him. He would be meeting the Head of R&D and Ms. Granger after lunch it seemed. Harry got someone to take him to the meeting room and felt his heart stutter as she looked up from her paperwork. 

“Hello.”

“H-Hello,” Viktor breathed blinking, confused. 

If… 

If…

Perhaps God hated him, he could believe it seeing her right now. 

After all, she was fucking distracting in her consultant wear, but he’d always preferrd the low key attractiveness of a woman being comfortable. Sweatpants, glasses, hair tied back in a bun, lab coat and a fitted tank top, comfortable tennis shoes and that smile. 

“Surprised?”

“Yes,” Viktor said. “I was hoping to have a little more time to… to pull myself together.”

Her eyes flickered over him, “Together?”

“Da,” he said and shook his head. “Ms. Granger…"

“Hermione,” she said offering her hand to shake, smiling at him pleasantly. “I think it’s fair to give first names since we’ll be seeing each other often now.”

Viktor liked his lips and shook his hand, “Then… please call me Viktor.”

“Viktor,” she said and watched him take a seat before sliding things across the table to talk shop. 

Some part of him must have been paying attention, because he vaguely remembers to send her the things that she’s asked for after she gives him a tour of the R&D Department. 

In his new office, he’s trying to meditate on the fact that she didn’t actually wear perfume. Her little section of the lab just happened to be near the floral side of the greenhouse, imbuing her with a floral scent. 

It takes three tumbles over the edge to just get the burning from beneath his skin to go away so he can think when he gets home and he wonders how the hell he’s supposed to go to work like a goddamn professional with her around looking like that all the time. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh Viktor... how much you've suffered.

She looked up, carrying her things into the elevator and smiled. 

“Hello Viktor,” she said. “Late night?”

He nodded, licking his lips and looking at her, “Hermione.”

She looked at him and waited. 

“Are you… free tonight?”

She hummed, “Depends.”

“Would you join me for dinner?”

She blinked, shocked maybe, but it didn’t stop his cheeks from heating. 

“I have been… trying to be really professional. I don’t mean to offend, but--”

“You’re asking me on a date,” she said as if just catching on and looking down at her work boots as she’d been working in the greenhouse to repair a few things. 

“Yes,” Viktor said. 

“I’m… not exactly dressed for it.”

Viktor blinked, “I’m not sure what that means, but we don’t have to go anywhere fancy. Or right this moment…”

Hermione tilted her head looking up at him, “You confuse me Viktor.”

He snorted, “I’m sure not as much as you confuse me.”

Her lips twitched, “How about… a raincheck? When I’m significantly less covered in...dirt.”

Viktor smiled and nodded, “I’ll hold you to that.”

He offered her a slip of paper with his number scribbled on it, “Call me?”

Hermione took the paper and nodded, “Okay.”

He walked her to her car and the moment she pulled away at his behest, he collapsed, trying to catch his breath and stop shaking all at once. He was pretty sure he’d never been so nervous in his entire life. 

If perhaps, he manages to completely embarrass himself on their first date as a passing waiter tripped and sent a container of syrup flying and spilling out all over them and their table, he chalked it up Karkaroff’s ill intentions. Then again, the joke seemed to be on him since Hermione had taken just a few moments to realize what happened behind her syrup covered glasses and laughed. He flushed hot red and the waitress panicked. Hermione smiled, asking for some warm water to help clean up and he stared at her stock still inside the restaurant as she wiped his face laughing. 

“I hope all of our dates are this eventful…”

Viktor licked his lips, “I… haven’t scared you off with my terrible luck?”

She snorted, “Not in a million years.”

He nodded, grateful and let her continue cleaning him up since he got the bulk of the syrup. 

“At least it wasn’t blueberry,” she said.

“Why?”

“You’re allergic aren’t you?”

He blinked, “How… did you know that?”

“Vlad… told me.” She said.  “Told me about the Epipen incident in college.”

His lips twitched, “You… asked about me.”

Hermione looked at him, “Well… yes.”

Viktor let out a sigh of relief, “I… was wondering if this was just one sided.”

Hermione snorted, moving on to run the warm wet cloth through his hair to get as much syrup out as possible. 

“Have you seen you? Do you think I’m blind? I just… had other things to focus on and a cover to keep.”

“Since… the meeting?”

Hermione chuckled, “Since the first time you stared at my lips, yes.”

He flushed, “I… didn’t--”

“It’s okay,” she soothed, squeezing his hand. “It was… nice… and definitely gave me more of a reason to wear lipstick.”

He groaned and hung his head, “I tried to be… controlled.”

“You were,” she said. “It’s just that… your eyes are so…”

_ Intense, honest… open… _

“Intense,” she decided on. “Even when you were presenting your newest proposal and suffering through my questioning.”

“Interrogation,” Viktor corrected. “Like a hostage situation.”

She laughed, “I had to… be intense. It kept me focused on something other than wanting to crawl into your lap.”

His jaw dropped and he looked at her as she smiled serenely, “Not what you were expecting?”

“Hoped for it,” Viktor said. “Desperately.”

“Well…. Maybe if we get far enough, you’ll get a chance to bend me over your desk.”

He groaned as she laughed, “Please… stop.”

“Do you really want me to?”

His head tilted back, “That… is quite enough I think.”

Hermione smirked as their eyes met. He had… no idea, but he would soon enough. 

When Viktor does find out, he doesn’t have the brainpower to acknowledge it, too busy flipping them over so he could hear that delicious moan from her lips again. When they’ve woken up after several rounds of sex, he still isn’t ready for it because he’s too busy staring at her and contemplating how open she’d be to sex in the shower. 

“Joining me?”

He’s fucking doomed. Yep, doomed, fucked, and probably stupidly happy for the rest of his life. She would have him wrapped around her little finger in under a week if this kept up.

Yes, but somehow that felt like more of a victory than a loss and oh... what a spoil she promised to be. 


End file.
